New Book Review: Darktown

Tags

Crime, darktown, fiction, mullen, mystery

Rated 5 of 5 stars

Darktown by Thomas Mullen put me into a dizzying head spin and a full blown emotional rollercoaster ride. The first 20 pages had me so seething mad that I had to realize that it was a story of fiction and I should probably calm down. I wasn’t going to find an “Officer Dunlow” in my town…well, not by that name anyway. The story gripped me from the very beginning and never let me go. I was emotionally on the edge of my seat for hours and felt real, palpable tension while reading this book.

So let’s get on with the synopsis. In Atlanta, the first black police officers are given badges, guns, training and a bunch of obstacles to overcome, racism being one of the tallest hurdles. The book is set in the 40’s and it shows the state of race relations to full scale with racial slurs, discrimination and the constant brow beating of black and brown people in a southern state. As a reader, this will boil you. You will hate what is happening and the general climate of the time….which is a good thing. If you don’t feel sickened, then you probably have racism, bigotry or just a general problem with having sympathy or empathy.

Anyway, two of the eight officers are walking their beat in Darktown (the slang term for the all black neighborhood) when they see a white man crash into a light pole, drunken at the wheel. After stopping him, they find a young black girl in the passenger side, clearly beaten but not asking for help. The man drives off when he realizes he was pulled over by cops that had no real power to arrest him. Later, they find the young girl dead. This spawns so many storylines in this book, you’ll be wondering who did what and why for most of the story. Excellent tension, suspense and overall unfolding of a mystery.

In the end, the story is gratifying. It may not be ideal but it definitely wraps up all the storylines and gives credibility to things that happened earlier in the story. I enjoyed every second of this story as a reader and hated/loathed/despised many of the characters (which is a sign of a powerful writer). This story will stay with me for a very long time. Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended!

*Book was purchased with my own money. Grab a $7 copy of your own with free shipping on Book Depository using my affiliate link HERE. (I get a couple cents for sending you, so thanks for keeping the blog running….)

New Book Review: Dark Matter

Tags

blake crouch, dark matter, quantum, Sci-Fi, science

4 of 5 stars

I found Blake Crouch’s, Dark Matter, to be an enthralling read! It had me sitting on the edge of my seat, wondering what I would do in the same situation and questioning what type of integrity I really have. This novel touches on scientific quantum studies, individuality (or lack thereof), emotional ties, psychological and post traumatic stress as well as a host of other really deep mental mysteries.

At the start of the book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to entirely like it due to the slower start but it ramped up pretty quickly when I wasn’t expecting it. Then it never let go. As a reader, you journey with the main character through his own mental and emotional struggles but also into the world of science. I’m no science nerd but this book made me really interested in quantum physics and the capabilities of a multiverse. Anyway, before I start, nerding-out completely, let’s get a brief synopsis.

The book follows Jason Dessen, a professor at a local college, as he spends an evening with his wife, Daniela and son, Charlie. You feel the comfort between Jason and his wife immediately. They have a really great bond. Later, as Jason sits with his buddy whose just won a prestigious award at a local bar, he questions whether his life would be different if he’d moved forward with his scientific invention related to quantum physics. He wonders if he could have been an all-star like his friend. He brushes this off as a simple “what if” and begins his walk home. While on his way, he is ambushed by a masked man and his life changes forever from that point on. When he wakes, he is in a lab. The people are acting strangely and even though he doesn’t recognize any of them, they seem to know him quite well. This is the start of Jason Dessen’s journey back home to his wife and son.

The scientific appeal of this novel is sci-fi to the max. But the suspense is just as strong a motivating factor for the reader. You want Jason to win. To find his family. But then there’s an extreme twist that makes you go “what the…”. That’s when you know Crouch has pulled you deep into the rabbit hole.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

*This book was purchased with my own money. Purchase a copy with free shipping through my Book Depository affiliate link CLICK HERE

New Book Review: The Mothers

Tags

abortion, adultery, brit bennett, church, religious

4 of 5 stars

Brit Bennett wrote a breakout novel filled with heartbreak. She writes the story of Nadia Turner as a main character that has lost her mother and is in turn, always seeking out who she is in the shadow of her mother’s suicide. She questions why her mother would want to kill herself, wondering all the while whether it was Nadia who had made her mother hate her life by having a child too soon. Ironically, Nadia is faced with a similar situation at a young age and with the help of unlikely people, she makes a decision that will affect so many lives.

The story was a great, fast read when you get into the thick of her relationship with Luke, the preacher’s son and even more so with Nadia’s friendship with Aubrey. Aubrey is also damaged in her past by her own mother and she finds herself leaning on Nadia as her symbol of perfection and beauty. Her high hopes for Nadia are realized when she heads of to college in search of becoming a lawyer, travelling the world yet Aubrey doesn’t realize that Nadia is running from her past, her mother, herself.

The book is written from multiple perspectives throughout the book which I found particularly confusing in the beginning. There was not notation to let the reader know the narrator was switching from Nadia to Luke to the Mothers in the church. So many times, I’d read a few paragraphs completely lost until I got the gist of who’s point of view I was following. In the end, the book had really good conversation starters about women’s rights, youth rights, suicide, depression and so many other topics that I won’t say and spoil the story. Readers that value heartfelt, deep thought out drama will find this entertaining and a sure fire conversation starter. Great book club pick!

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

*Hardcover book was purchased with my own money. Use my affiliate link on Book Depository to get free shipping.

New Book Review: The Vegetarian

Tags

han kang, literary, psychological, vegetarian

Rated 4 of 5 stars

This was my first Han Kang novel and I really enjoy her style of writing. It’s poetic and blunt while also being very thought provoking. In her novel, The Vegetarian, the reader follows the main story of Yoeng-hye and her plight to finding herself and exerting her own control over her life. The story breaks off into three points of view. The first is of her husband, a self serving critic of her as well as a man that craves mediocrity. Her relationship with him is tested as she first claims to be vegetarian and will no longer eat meat. Her husbands lack of support stems to her family as well. Everyone she knows does not support her and attempts to force her to eat meat against her wishes even go so far as to lie about ingredients or force feed her.

Next, you follow the brother-in-law and his own exploits of Yeong-hye during her weakest points. Lastly, you get the story from her sister which brings together a lot of Yeong-hye’s family issues that we weren’t completely aware of but soon realize that its not only her with psychological issues. There’s a lot of mental health issues to go around.

The story is a creative approach to psychological health through the lense of control. Controlling what one eats, how they live and how they believe. Then you see the other side of the coin, what would life be like without any support? Not a friend. Not a family member. No children. Nothing to keep you grounded. How long could you last in psychological isolation?

All in all, this book was worthy of the Man Booker International Prize that it won. It was an incredible look at how control, psychology and change can be a horrible cocktail for the right family. I couldn’t give it the full five stars because I didn’t care for the ending at all but found it poetic in nature (while lacking the ability to close out the story lines).

Raging Book Review Highly Recommended

*Book purchased with my own money. Want a copy? Use my Book Depository link (you get free shipping and I get a few cents for sending you!) Click HERE

New Book Review: The Body Reader

Tags

audible, detective, female lead, novels

Rated 4 of 5 stars

Anne Frasier has a mind like a killer (and thus, someone should check her basement frequently and without warning). The way she creates scenes of torture are second to none. Throughout this story, I found myself cringing and thinking, “God, how do you survive that?”. I was completely swept up into the story of Jude Fontaine and her descent into what some think is insanity while she sees it as gifted in her craft of reading people (dead or alive). Jude was held captive for three years in a secluded, dark basement with no other stimulation than the visits from her captor. Over that time, she’s learned to read his facial expressions and body language in order to prepare for or hopefully escape torture.

When she escapes from her personal hell-hole, life is so different. Her senses are heightened. Her sense of smell and ability to read people’s feelings is intensified. Before she was abducted, she was a detective. When she returns to her old precinct, Uriah is there in her place, the position she left when she was abducted. He helps her find herself in this new world and she helps him find a piece of himself that was missing after suffering his own tragedy but only after the bumpy start to their relationship. Jude has fleeting thoughts. Why was she abducted? Why did he let her live so long? Why are girls dying around the city with uncanny similarities? The ride doesn’t stop there and there’s no stopping the twists in this story once you start.

This book is a hell of a ride. I found myself attached to Jude and Uriah. I like that Frasier keeps the main thing the “main thing” and doesn’t force romance in places where there isn’t any. I give her kudos for that. I felt she did an exceptional job of creating characters that were easily identifiable throughout the story. There was one hole left in the story at the end which left me questioning so I took a star away due to the story not being completely transparent at the end. Overall, Frasier knows how to write strong women and she excels at defying my suspenseful expectations. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

*This book was listened to on Audible using my own dinero. 😉

Interested in snagging a copy? Use my Book Depository link HERE to get free shipping! (Oh, and I get a couple cents for sending you there…hee-hee.)

 

New Book Review: Saga (Volume Six)

Tags

family, fantasy, love, saga, sex

Rated 4 of 5 stars

So we all know that I love this series, right? Well, nothing has changed…end of review.

Okay, okay, slow down….let me tell you about what I loved, okay?

The story continues with a closer look at the growing, Hazel. If you haven’t read the series yet…Hazel is the daughter of two badass fighters/thieves/parents/lovers who are not supposed to be together. Papa bear is from the Moon which hates “wings” from another planet. While being imprisoned, Marko (Papa Bear as I affectionately call him) falls for his prison guard, the hot-tempered and blunt Alana. They make war and make a baby. Hence, beautiful and funny Hazel. Throughout the comic, Hazel narrates from her point of view which is hilarious yet strangely thought provoking. She’s the cutest little mixed breed baby…and the FIRST. Which means that everyone in the universe wants her dead (if they ever found out about her) because they are trying to kill the parents just for BEING together.

Anyway, Hazel was left with her badass grandma who is thoroughly tatted up and not afraid to bash a head in or two over her son, Marko or her grandbaby. Anyway, Marko and Alano must find where Hazel is since they were separated during an ugly heist.

The book also follows parallel stories of a hired assassin who has completely gone bat-shit crazy after the death of every person he loves…his sister (also an assassin) and his girlfriend (also an assassin). You’d think this guy would get a new profession, right? Nope. He puts on 100 pounds, talks to ghosts of his loved ones and searches for their killer. *I didn’t care for a lot of this portion of the story with him and the reporters but I know it will tie in with the next volume. But now I have to wait!!!!!!!!! Aghghghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I waited so long for this one and it ended with a BANG. Can’t wait to see Volume Seven….can’t freakin’ wait.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

Get the Saga series using my Book Depository affiliate link HERE (You get FREE shipping, I get a couple cents for sending you there! Woohoo!)

New Audiobook Review: Shady Cross

Tags

bon shaw, hankins

Rated 5 of 5 stars

Shady Cross by James Hankins was a romping good time with humor, suspense and lots of action. You won’t be yearning for any more fight scenes for a while with this one. I truly enjoyed the main character, Stokes. He was funny, dry and all about business. I liked that he wasn’t too smart and was very average in all others categories which fit nicely into the irony of the ending. There were some things you could hate about him (like abandoning his girlfriend and child by just leaving and never coming back). So don’t think you’re getting a superhero in this book that saves a little girl because the ending will leave you gasping.

It has some pretty gruesome scenes and especially weird sequence of events but you’ll find a startle every few chapters. Not the “trying too hard to wow you kind” but the real, “damn, I just stepped in some shit” type of scenarios. In a world where everybody owes everybody and no helps for free, you find a career criminal with a semblance of heart drowned by a heartless antagonist. Very good writing by Hawkins! Bon Shaw was a critical piece of how good this story was. His voice and his choices were spot on with Stokes and I felt like each character was different. Bravo!

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

Purchase this book on Book Depository with Free Shipping HERE

Listen to a snippet or purchase on Audible HERE

New Book Review: The Animal After Whom Other Animals Are Named

Tags

poetry, sealey

Rated 5 of 5 stars

**Poetry**

Thoroughly enjoyed the ruminations of Nicole Sealey’s chapbook! There were a few poems that really stood out as enlightening and thought provoking enough to make me sit in silence for a moment. While the chapbook is small, it definitely leaves you yearning for more whilst being completely satisfied. Poems like ‘Legendary’ made me shake my head in wonder. I could feel every ounce of sarcasm and realism in those lines but also sense the disparity. Other poems like ‘Virginia is for Lovers’ and ‘And’ were also strong pieces that made the reader gasp in shock at her true meaning or think deeply on what it is she truly meant. We realize that a house in Virginia, isn’t just a house.

This small, poetic masterpiece has won many awards and I can see why. The writer, or poet rather, has a way of bringing you into her thought process and asking you yours without ever asking a question. She forces you to think about her words and examine your own beliefs with what you find. I’d recommend this book for lovers of poetry that want to examine life as it is or escape into life as it should be.

Raging Book Reviews Recommended

*This book was received by the publisher at BookCon2016 for an honest review.

Purchase a copy on Book Depository HERE

 

New Book Review: The 13th Continuum

Tags

brody, Debut, new release, novel, post-apocalyptic, Sci-Fi

Rated 4 of 5 stars

Jennifer Brody’s debut is a thrilling ride into the dark universe and and into the cold depths of the sea. This was an incredible read that I will not long forget! First, the premise revolves around the end of the world as we know it through a brutal rain down of what seems to be asteroids? or something more sinister. All the reader knows is that there is a group of chosen survivors that will escape the undoing by living in space, under water and underground. Brody does a great job channeling Aero’s bravery in space and Myra’s savvy smarts under the sea. We are eluded to the underground Seeker very briefly. This story is one of Myra and Aero’s escape from their separate worlds back to Earth. The journey they both endure will have you on the edge of your seat!

Brody did a brilliant job of creating worlds that we could visualize and touching on class issues and what power really means. Also, it shows how creating followers is an important part of power. I loved seeing the different lifestyles, rules and governing bodies and how they were so different than American values when given people the opportunity to lead themselves.

I thought the premise of the novel was better than the writing though. The writing could become a bit rushed in certain scenes (which I can understand from a book size point of view…if details were explained, it could be much longer). In some times though, I wish the explanations weren’t so rushed so that I could feel like I came up with something along the way as the reader. Even with its fast pace, it satisfies the readers curiosity. I will be starting the second book in the series immediately to say the least. Return of the Continuums will prove to be an interesting journey of both Aero and Myra along with their crews heading towards the First Continuum and each other. I’m interested to see whether other Continuums survived and what lifestyles they’ve led for the last thousand years.

*This book was received from the publisher at BookCon2016 for an honest review.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended

New Book Review: The Devourers

Tags

india, shapeshifting

Rated 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed Indra Das’ breakout novel, The Devourers, because it meshed a fantasy novel into so many other things. It touched on taboo topics like homosexuality, rape, tribal sacrifices, unconditional love (although very complex), friendship and finding who you are in the midst of being so many things.

In the novel, you follow two stories interwoven throughout the book of Izrail, a half-breed werewolve, and Cyrah, a strong and courageous woman. You also learn a bit about Fenrir, an ancient werewolve, early on and then more so through the lives and choices of others in the story line. I found some moments to be brutally difficult to read (killing of children or rape of women seem to be difficult for me because well, I have a kid and I’m a woman). Even through the brutality, there is a lesson to be captured if you think deep enough. The story really had so many hidden meanings that I think I could potentially read this one again and glean new meaning from it.

The authors word choices and general tone were spot on for a novel set in India. You get a bit of history but also feel as though you are transported into the story as someone living and breathing in India. I think this is one reason Das is considered an excellent writer because as the story unfolds as a journal entry of a different time and place, the readers are transported there, not questioning whether the authenticity is lost. I found the story to ebb and flow, not too fast but also just quick enough to ensure you read more. I languished a bit on the tail end of the novel but hungrily digested Cyrah and Jevah-dan’s adventures. It was the sweetest spot in the whole book and one not easily forgotten.

I would recommend this book for readers who like fantasy but with a heavy dose of realism. This isn’t fantasy on steroids. You’ll get character driven writing, lots of (real) world building and a touch of werewolves and shape shifting that really in essence boils down to tribal culture. If these things interest you as a reader, then you will “devour” this novel.

Raging Book Reviews Highly Recommended!

*I received this book for free at BookCon 2016 as an early reader.